Plant of the Month May 2024: Panda Plant (Kalanchoe tomentosa & Kalanchoe eriophylla)
Welcome back to yet another installment of our Plant of the Month series. This May, we’re covering the adorable Kalanchoe tomentosa, better known as the Panda Plant. Native to Madagascar, these interesting plant babies have many names and varieties but all of them are best known for their fuzzy appearance (Not to be confused with Echeveria setosa, the Firecracker Plant which we covered back in October 2022). The most common type of Panda Plant is Kalanchoe tomentosa “chocolate soldier”, which has a rich brown to almost black edges along the leaves. The chocolate soldier variety ‘s leaves are usually a pale lower saturated green covered with small silver hairs.
Large Kalanchoe tomentosa ‘Golden Girl’ Panda Plant Terrarium at Fern & Fossil’s New Location
Another variety of the Panda Plant is the Kalanchoe tomentosa ‘golden girl’. Much like the ‘chocolate soldier’ variant, the ‘golden girl’ has brown edges and silver hairs covering the leaves. Although very similar to its counterpart, this Panda Plant can be distinguished by its thinner, elongated bright green and golden tipped leaves. I just love how vibrant and fun these succulents are. There’s also a red and brown variant, Kalanchoe tomentosa ‘cinnamon’. Unlike the more common ‘chocolate soldier’ and ‘golden girl’, this succulent features very little green in its coloring. It comes in a much darker hue with thick burnt sienna and cinnamon colored edges.
Close up image of Kalanchoe tomentosa fuzzy leaves
The Snow White Panda Plant or White Lady is a similar but different species of fuzzy Kalanchoe succulent. Nicknamed Snow White due to its pale appearance, Kalanchoe eriophylla differs from the traditional Kalanchoe tomentosa panda plant in a few ways. First off, they’re not native to Madagascar like most Panda Plant species. Rather the Snow White Panda Plant is native to South Africa and characterized by its densely haired velvet-like textured oval shaped leaves. When sick, Kalanchoe eriophylla will look more like the Kalanchoe tomentosa ‘cinnamon’ species as its leaves will soften and brown.
Kalanchoe tomentosa ‘Golden Girl’ Panda Plant with small Ghost Plant propagation cutting
Both Kalanchoe tomentosa and Kalanchoe eriophylla need the following care:
Light ☀️ Partial Shade
Water 💧Only when soil is completely dry. Do not overwater.
Grow 🌱 This is not a cold hardy plant. For best results avoid temperatures below 40 F.